


looking over your shoulder

by orphan_account



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-02
Updated: 2008-07-02
Packaged: 2017-10-10 21:35:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/104561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU for Martha after her appearance in - Torchwood "A Day in the Death"</p>
            </blockquote>





	looking over your shoulder

The Cardiff Rift. Martha had studied it during the year at UNIT, back when she'd had to take seminars, lectures, training exercises and finally exams. It had been almost like being at medical school again, except it was completely different.

It was the biggest energy generator on Earth, she'd learned, and if one day they managed to make use of it in a more favourable way than of the sun energy, they'd be settled for life. It was also the most dangerous one, surpassing even atom energy in unpredicatability. But Torchwood was in charge of _that_.

She enjoyed her stay at Torchwood more than she'd thought she would. Meeting Jack Harkness again. Talking about the Doctor, about the end of the world, about her adventures. The adventures no one but a few chosen people on earth knew about. It was lonely, if she was honest. She worked with people who believed, but they hadn't _been there_, and her family was lovely and understanding, but they were her family.

Martha'd always been a girl who wanted to have something important of her own.

It was mostly an accident (it _better_ was, otherwise she'd have Jack's balls on a silver platter), but one of the machines he was always playing around with suddenly went crazy and all she could do was yell, "What's going on? Why's it doing that?" before she heard Tosh rush to her computer and her panic as she said, "Rift spikes, and huge ones. Ianto, check the other computer, I'm pulling the location now, give us the footage -"

Tosh's words were the last ones she heard before there was a heaving feeling in her stomach, like she was being dropped from a good hundred feet height. There was only darkness for seconds, and she thought, like a flash in her mind, that she was dead, that this was it, she'd died and it hadn't even been heroic and spectacular like she'd always thought it would be since that fateful day the Doctor had her teleport down onto a near-apocalyptical world to save it.

But then there was light, too much of it, and someone said, "Shit. Not _again_." And Martha found herself lying face-down on someone's floor, shaking all over.

Half an hour later, she felt better. The girl had gone to change into proper clothes - the nightwear had been nice, though, with little pink elephants dancing over white garment - made her hot tea - spectacular tea, really, better than any she'd have been able to make herself - and sat her down on the pretty, red couch and covered her with a thick, woollen blanket against the shivering.

"Still cold?" she asked after all that was done, and Martha was unable to stop the shaking of her fingers anyway.

"No. No, I'm good. Thanks."

"You don't look good," the girl sighed. "But then, I can guess what just happened, so it's not like it'll be good for a long while."

"Where am I?" Martha asked, looking around the comfortable little apartment. It definitely had a woman's touch, and it looked like the girl was living alone. "Who are you?"

"Yeah, uhm. That's pretty much the first thing people ask." She had a lovely smile, huge, incredibly beautiful, maybe because of the way it made her nose scrunch up and the rows of white teeth it unveiled. "I'm Rose. You're human, right? From Earth? Clothes and all - twenty-first century?"

"Yeah. I was just - I mean. One second, I'm in the middle of - and then I land here and - what did you say where 'here' is?"

"London," Rose said, sucking on her lower lip. At Martha's relieved look and sudden move to pull off her blanket and stand up, she added, "Parallel universe. Kind of."

Martha blinked. "You're - wait. Parallel universe. Rose -" the pieces started to fall together, but it couldn't be. She shook her head to rid herself of the confusion. It would be too much of a coincidence... wouldn't it?" "Rose what?" she asked.

"Tyler," Rose said. She narrowed her eyes. "D'you know me, then? You look like you know me."

"Of course, I know you," Martha said. "What are you - oh, right, we've never - but he talks about you all the time. I used to be so jealous." She snorted, staring down into her cup. "You're the one, aren't you? Rose Tyler? With the Doctor, in the Tardis?"

Rose stared. "How do you -"

"Martha," Martha said. "Jones. The rebound." She gave a small self-depracing grin. "Or, you know. Not. But at first, it seemed that way. It's nice to finally meet you." She blinked. "You're not what I expected, honestly."

"What did you expect?" Rose asked, giving her a once-over, slowly, like she was checking out the competition. "Leggy blonde, ninety-sixty-ninety?"

Martha grinned. "From the way he talks about you? Kind of?"

"Oh, screw you," Rose grinned back. "He's not that bad."

"He totally is. So, by the way, is Jack."

"Don't tell me you've met Jack, too. Oh God, Jack. He talks about everyone like they're perfect. Don't mind him." Rose smiled dreamily. "Though he can dance all right. And kiss."

Martha snorted. "He has enough practice, that's for sure." Then she cocked her head, grin widening. "He has a _boyfriend_ now, did you know?"

"Really? Oh, of course. Let me guess, tall, strong, drop-dead-gorgeous and into kinky sex?"

"Uh-huh."

"Lucky bastard."

The companionable silence lasted for a good minute or two as they both indulged a memory of their own, then Martha cleared her throat. "So, uhm, I was in Cardiff when this happened. The Rift, you know? I was with Torchwood, and - I have no idea what kind of alien tech Jack was playing with the moment it happened, but then I was here and if you're saying it's a parellel universe, then that sounds... not good. How do I get back?"

Rose looked at the floor. "You're not," she said.

"What?"

"You can't. There is no way. Parallel universes are permanently sealed off from each other. There are - I've learned in Torchwood that there are split-second tears in the fabric between the worlds, but they only last long enough to allow occasional things to strand here. Only very rarely humans or aliens. You're the... fifth person, I think, this year, to land here through that particular rift. There are a few all over the world."

"You're Torchwood?" Martha asked.

"Yes. I'm in the field usually, but I'm also the liaison for first alien contact so I've volunteered to take this apartment. Nobody else wanted to live here. Strange things fall through now and then. And, as I said. You're the fifth person this year. I'm sorry." She really looked sorry. "There's no way to get back."

"But - but I need to get back!" The reality of what had happened slowly started to penetrate her mind. "I have family on Earth. I can't just stay here. And what am I supposed to do? I'm a UNIT member, on Earth, but there is no file on me on this planet. Or - wait, if this is a parallel universe, I have to exist here as well, don't I? Do you? Have you checked?"

"I do, actually." Rose pried the cup from her hands gently - they'd started to shake again and the tea was threatening to swap over. "And I think you must be running around doing whatever it is you've become on this world somewhere as well. But you can't ever meet yourself. That would be very bad."

"I think I'd like to - go out, for a while. I mean. I can't - I can't stay here, and I need to find a way to get back. I'm sorry to bother you, please, let me look for myself. I've been in worse situations before, but there is always a way."

She was standing up, but Rose held her back, grabbing her shoulders, pushing her to sit back down. "Listen to me," she said. "There is no way. The Doctor would have found one, if there was a way. We're working ..." she bit her lip.

Martha narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"We're having problems. There are - strange things happening. Stars going out that are long before their actual burn-out time. Strange warnings from prophetic or telepathic creatures inhabiting or visiting this world. Torchwood has picked up several coded messages from the galaxies surrounding us."

"Nothing like that's happening on Earth," Martha pointed out.

"This world is ahead of ours. It'll happen, in a couple weeks or months, on Earth too. Something big is happening, but we don't know how. We're working on finding a way to cross the universes, so I can go and find the Doctor. He's the only one who can help. Believe me, if the Doctor didn't find a way to cross over back and forth, it's near impossible, especially for a single person. But with Torchwood at our backs - I promise, I won't leave you behind, but you have to trust me. This is the only way to get you back into your universe."

"I don't even know you," Martha said, helpless. "I don't - how can I trust you? And this Torchwood, it doesn't sound like Jack and his people -"

"Jack's with Torchwood?"

"Jack _founded_ Torchwood."

Rose blinked. "Wow. He - wow. That's. Almost like he's in love."

Martha grinned. "With the Doctor? A little."

"Do you wanna see it?"

"What?"

"Torchwood here? Do you want to see it? It's not exactly secret. Everybody can come and have a look. And since you're with me, and you're a companion -"

"There is nothing I can do to get back?" Martha wanted to know. "Nothing?"

"Not as far as I or the Doctor know. Not yet anyway."

Martha nodded and pushed the blanket back, stretching a bit. "Fine. Let's go. The faster I know about what's going on, the faster I can try to find out what I can do to fix this mess."

Rose gave her a rather sad smile. It looked almost like she'd thought the same thing, way back, at some point.

~*~

Martha went to bed disappointed that night. She'd spoken with many people, Rose's superiors even, or rather, some of the official Torchwood leaders. Martha doubted anyone was Rose's superior, here or ever. But while they _were_ working on a way to cross universes in order to send Rose to find the Doctor, they were nowhere near finished. And it took a whole lot more energy than should be even possible to produce without short-circuiting the planet.

She couldn't sleep, tossed and turned on the bed. Rose's bed, as she was constantly reminded by the different scent that lingered, and the rose-coloured sheets, visible even in the dim light that entered from the lamp across the street. Rose had graciously offered, taking the couch. "It'll help," she'd said, almost like she was honestly believing Martha'd be able to fall asleep at all.

It was well past midnight, two hours of twisting and turning later, when the door opened with a creak and Rose stepped in on bare feet, almost silent on the carpet. "Can't sleep?" she whispered.

"No," Martha sighed. "I'm sorry. I can go sit on the couch if you want your bed back. I'm not going to, I don't think."

Rose sat down on the edge and said, "If you want, I could -"

Martha swallowed, waiting, not saying a word.

"I mean. When - the first night I spent here, it was. Different. But I had my mum, and Mickey, y'know, my boyfriend, and dad, and we all kind of clustered together in one huge bed and it was easier to, you know? Forget? There was someone else, another body. The warmth, the scent, the intimacy. It helps, I promise." She seemed to smile, sorrowful. "You can trust me."

"You've said that."

"I know. I'll keep saying it until you believe it."

"Okay." Martha slipped back, making space. "Okay. It'll be just like a sleep-over."

"Bit old for sleep-overs, aren't we?" But Rose's tone of voice was teasing.

"Never too old for sleep-overs," Martha said. "Bet you Jack just loves them."

Rose laughed.

~*~

Breakfast was - too easy. There should have been some discomfort, some sort of awkwardness. They'd slept curled around each other, and Martha thought Rose's hair was nice, the texture against her skin, and she'd started stroking it, softly, making Rose purr with pleasure. She'd woken up with her fingers still tangled in it.

"Coffee?" Rose said, offering.

"Please," Martha nodded. "Can't wake up properly without."

"I'm not a huge fan, but it'll do," Rose grinned.

"Should try Ianto's. He makes some brilliant coffee. Will get you hooked for the rest of your life."

"Ianto?"

"Jack's boyfriend."

"Ah. Figures Jack would find someone with brilliant coffee-making skills."

"And kinky sex-drive."

They shared a knowing grin.

"Talking about boyfriends, you have one, right? Mickey?"

Rose shook her head. "We haven't been together for a long time now. We - we were in love, I think. Before the Doctor. But once you've been with the Doctor, it changes your perspective. And we fell out of love. Or I did, anyway."

"Oh."

Rose shrugged. "And now the Doctor's gone, and Mickey - we're friends, best of friends, but it'll never be the same again, you know? Never fooling around before the TV, or throwing food at each other, just yattering on about work and - there's no normal, you know? Not for us."

"No," Martha agreed. "Not for us." She remembered all too well throwing herself into work, UNIT giving her one project after the next, elated by her enthusiasm and total dedication. Forgetting the Doctor, making a new life. It wasn't as easy as it sounded.

~*~

They went back to Torchwood that day, Rose had to work, Martha just to look around again. But of course, she couldn't stay away. She thought possibly, the Doctor picked his companions that way. Once they were hooked, they couldn't just let it rest, never again sit back and just watch. It wasn't in their nature. Martha knew that about herself. It was one of the reasons she'd pursued a medical career in the first place.

By day three, they had her working on a specimen that had invaded the Earth atmosphere, or rather, working on a way to send it back with its spaceship. She wasn't a mechanic, but she could learn. She'd always been a quick learner.

By week three, seasoned mechanics were throwing her screwdrivers. No sonic ones, though, and of course, she wasn't allowed near sensitive equipment yet, not for a long time. But the trust they placed in her and her abilities... it was good. It felt good. It felt warm inside, like a wave of hot water through her lungs, whenever she saw the respect in their eyes. It was what she'd always missed with the Doctor. The way he should be looking at her, like she was special - but he never did. Not until that last day. Not until she walked away.

It had been the right decision to make, she'd told herself every day. She knew it had. But the travelling - she missed it. She guessed every companion did.

She still slept in Rose's bed, sometimes with Rose when she couldn't fall asleep, or had a particularly bad dream, sometimes alone, when Rose had a night-shift or an assigment that took longer than a day or two, but sometimes, Rose just stayed on the couch and they didn't listen to each other breathe as they fell asleep. Martha admitted after the second or third such night that she missed Rose's presence. That she needed it, almost, craved it.

A month after Martha had arrived in the parallel universe, Rose laid beside her, still, staring at the ceiling, just as Martha was, the sheets crumbled between them, and said, "Have you ever wondered if maybe the best way to get over him is to find someone who travelled with him, too, and knows how it feels to be left behind?"

They both knew Martha wasn't asleep, even if she didn't say anything. Martha stayed silent.

"I've never been with a woman before," Rose went on, seconds later. "I didn't think - but sometimes, when I look at a girl and she's pretty or has something about her that I like, I think - if I had the guts, I'd go over and maybe ask her out for a drink. Just casually, like you'd go to a cute guy and say, 'My name's Rose. D'you fancy a beer?' I've never believed I could do that, though, not really. It's strange, isn't it? You'd think after loving an alien, being with a woman wouldn't be anything special, but there's still culture hammered into the front of your brain, no matter how hard you try to look past what you've been taught and on to broaden your horizon."

Martha bit her lip.

"I was wondering. I was wondering why you stayed with me, after all this time. You can afford a flat, I know you can, Torchwood pays a lot, and I've seen the paperwork, you have an account open under Martha Jones now, with a month's worth of cash and Torchwood can set you up with a nice, affordable apartment close to HQ - so why are you still here?"

It was a direct question and Rose had turned her head and was now staring at her, inquiry in her eyes.

Martha looked back, unafraid. "I like living with you."

Rose breathed out, a loud gasp in the silence of the room, and nothing moved.

"I like you," Martha added. "And I don't have the cultural baggage, if that's what you ask. My parents - there is nothing wrong with being gay. It was the first thing they told me when I went off to college to get my medical degree."

"Oh," Rose said. "Oh." And then she nodded and leaned over and kissed Martha's cheek, almost like she was afraid to do anything more, or anything less.

~*~

The kiss became a full one the next evening. Not in bed. They looked at each other and immediately reached an accord that it would be... too forward, maybe. Too much like there were expectations. Martha thought she liked that Rose was as careful about these things as she herself was. It wasn't that they didn't trust each other, it was just that they didn't want to feel pressured. Either of them.

The TV was running, showing some show Martha'd seen a hundred times before, but they weren't watching it, instead merging their lips together, slowly, and Martha tasted chocolate on Rose's, which meant she'd been nibbling on some again, and her tongue wasn't pushing, only it was asking for entry and Martha couldn't say no.

The kiss grew deeper after that, and Rose's hands were on her hips, wandering over the smooth skin beneath her top, rubbing gently up and down her sides. It felt good, the callused fingertips, the rough little hands, and she grasped the back of Rose's head harder and buried her fingers in her blonde hair and enjoyed the press of Rose's tongue against her own, licking and trying and swirling in her mouth.

They left it at that, that day, and the next day, and then it grew into more, the loss of the top, soft caresses. Martha found herself pushed back onto her back one day, with Rose between her thighs, rocking her hips back and forth into Martha's, their jeans grating as she softly took a nipple into her mouth and sucked, making Martha moan in response, throwing her head back. Rose's fingers were always there, always wandering the waistband of her jeans, or dipping into her navel, or stroking over her neck, her collarbones. Always just there, always paying attention.

Martha liked to make Rose moan too, by slipping a hand into the back of her pants, rubbing over the soft spot just below her tailbone, or rubbing up her thighs, up between her legs, caressing over the fabric as she licked her neck and up her jaw towards her ear, kissing there, and over her eyebrows, her nose, to her lips again to resume the making out.

She didn't know how long she'd have to stay, or if she'd ever manage to go home. She wasn't sure, and she was making the most of it, and she knew, inside, that at some point, there would be a good-bye, but she let herself fall anyway, because Martha liked to be in love, screw the consequences, and Rose didn't seem to mind, if the look in her eyes was any indication.

"We'll find a way," she still promised every evening they went to bed together, and sometimes, "we're really close, we are, it's like we're just missing a single piece of the puzzle, and if I knew - if I just knew -"

And they both knew that it would be over once she found it, once there was a way, and Martha had a feeling that they were both trying to push it further into the future as much as they could, maybe not consciously, but like they were begging for more time together. It was nice, to have someone who understood. Who could share the adventures, talk about the end of the world that hadn't happened.

The stars were going out, though, and faster every day. They couldn't afford to wait. They could just afford to be together, and enjoy the time they were given.

"Maybe we'll both - maybe there'll be a way for you and your family to stay in the other universe, when you're there. It can't be right, can it, to have two of you here," Martha wondered one night. Rose had her head on Martha's shoulder, warm breath ghosting over a wet kiss she'd planted there. "We could - if you wanted. I bet UNIT'd take you, I've seen your work, I'd vouch for you. You'd have a job and I have a lovely flat - if they haven't confiscated it yet, that is. I - you could -"

Rose laughed. "Are you asking me to move in with you?"

"Yes," Martha said, indignant. "Shut up."

"I'd love to," Rose smiled. "I'd love to go back. I'm not - I like it here, I do, but I'm not here by choice. And there are so many people that I - miss." She shrugged. "And of course, if you'd still want me."

"Yes," Martha said. "I would. I know we don't say it because the possibility that we won't be able to stay together is so huge, but I do, you know that, right? I kind of - I've grown to like you a whole lot more than I thought I could another person. Even maybe to love you, a little?"

Rose nodded, and her hair tickled. "Me too," she said. "I don't think we'll get a happy ending."

"We never seem to, do we."

"Maybe this time."

"Maybe. If we manage to save all universes and the stars and everything."

"We'll find a way. I promise." Rose looked up at her, her gaze beautiful and firm and convinced, as she always seemed to be, of herself, of the Doctor. Of Martha. It was a nice feeling, to be believed in so firmly, so loyally.

Martha kissed her, just as firm and convinved, and it was answer enough. As much answer as another 'I trust you' could have been.

~*~

_~~ written July 2008_


End file.
